Caleb Williams: NFL execs rave about presumptive No. 1 overall pick in 2024 NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears will finally get their quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.  As the top QB talent entering the draft, USC’s Caleb Williams will have all eyes on him when he steps onto the field in the NFL both on and off the field.

College football fans and NFL scouts have watched Williams dazzle on the field over the past three season with his dual threat ability.  Throwing for over 10,082 yards with 93 touchdowns and running for another 945 yards through 37 games at USC the projected Bears selection with the No. 1 overall selection leads a deep quarterback class.  The question is whether he will have the more successful NFL career.

Chicago Bears selecting Caleb Williams No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL draft a sure bet

As we know with past NFL drafts, the most talented QB doesn’t always end up being the best.  With all the hype, Williams can find himself being a bust if the natural talent he brings to the field doesn’t translate to the NFL level or his ego and/or degree of mental toughness gets in the way.  Still, it’s a selection the Bears can’t shy away from even if he is a smaller QB as far as height.  That’s the only flaw one AFC executive sees.

"The only thing you really don't like, just strictly on the player, is the height," an AFC executive said, via NFL.com. "He is reckless. He does some crazy s---. But at the same time, he creates a lot of big plays. I think you're just gonna have to live with a little bit of that. A lot of arm talent. He's shorter. He's built different than Bryce was. He's got more thickness to himself. Real confident and instinctive, and you can feel that on tape."

As NFL fans, particularly Kansas City Chiefs fans have seen with Patrick Mahomes, the reckless is what makes him such a dangerous threat when he is on the field.  In fact, that comparison to Mahomes is what will bring the most pressure on Williams, especially for a team like the Bears who have been starving for a franchise quarterback.  Can he handle it will be the biggest question? 

Will he be able to do his talking with his play on the field?

An NFC executive believes it will depend on the team around him.

"The further you get away from tape, the more people are making it more about the non-playing factors, whether it's the personality, the dad, etc.," the executive said. "Then you get back to the tape -- he's got the most ‘wow' plays of any quarterback in the draft. And he plays a lot of hero ball because people don't realize he had one of the worst supporting casts of any of the quarterbacks in this draft."

The Bears have a tremendous defense and with the No. 9 overall pick, will have an opportunity to also land Williams another top playmaker to go along with Keenan Allen, DJ More and tight end Cole Kmet.  The Bears also have a running back in D’Andre Swift who can help take some of the pressure off Caleb Williams.  In other words, he won’t have to make the crazy plays, at least during his rookie season, to be successful.

As an NFC assistant coach told NFL.com, he has “the tools to be a superstar,” and if he’s put in a better situation than Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky, two QBs previously taken by the Bears in the first round, that superstardom should shine on Soldier Field for years to come.

If it doesn’t, Caleb Williams could be the biggest bust in NFL history…as far as all the hype surrounding what he can be as a franchise quarterback.